2025 Advent Calendar Day 5! Bear Ghost - Jiminy

So this is the first "checkpoint" of the month so to speak. Jiminy is an album I've listened to since it came out and it was a lot of fun to revisit it in full for the first time in a while. It's maximalist perfection. There is so much going on and it never feels stale.

The guitar and synth tones are dialed in excellently across the board, but there's also a lot of distinction between songs. "Heavy News" and ... read more

2025 Advent Calendar Day 4! Deftones - White Pony

My first Deftones album and oh man it does not disappoint. It's full of rage and aggression without being overly edgy or campy like a lot of other nu-metal records tend to be. There's a great mix of anger and tenderness across the tracklist. The guitars are beautifully fuzzy, the drums sound fantastic, and the vocals switch between crooning and screaming at will. There's enough variety between songs that the anger never feels too ... read more

2025 Advent Calendar Day 3! Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver

Indie folk music at its best. This album is so consistently great. It's lush and huge sounding but still very grounded, and with a ton of variety between songs. Tracks blend together seamlessly.

The instrumentation here is so good. The layered pads and fingerstyle guitars of the genre are a given, but there are also tons of horns and overdriven guitars and higher energy drum bits. Colin Stetson's bass saxophone features ... read more

Let's Make Them Viral: Week 8

Not bad, but with a few exceptions it's not all that great either. There's some great breakcore in here and some great symphonic metal, but most songs on here are just abrasive and not much else. I'm a fan of some of Igorrr's later work, and this just feels like a less polished version of Amen.

Standout Tracks: Pavor Nocturnus, Cruciform Dachsund, Moldy Eye
Least Favourites: Double Monk, Unpleasant Sonata

2025 Advent Calendar Day 2! Boards of Canada - The Campfire Headphase

I had pretty high hopes going into this album, based off of the high ratings and the number of times I've had this recommended to me. I really did try to enjot it, but The Campfire Headphase is so boring. Sandison and Eoin are obviously talented musicians, but every song feels like one to six minutes of the same chord loop with some pads in the background.

Dayvon Cowboy is easily the best song and probably the only one ... read more

2025 Advent Calendar Day 1! Bjork - Vespertine

What a way to start the month. Going into this album I think I was simultaneously over- and under-estimating it; I've only ever heard good things, but I'm also not a big pop or electronic fan. I expected it to be good, but not THAT good.

No yeah it's that good.

Vespertine is an incredibly lush, beautiful record that sucks you in and does not let you go. Bjork wanted to make this a calm album after the more intense Homogenic ... read more

Vanisher, Horizon Scraper is an amazing title. The album cover is also insanely cool. Presentation is something this album just does so perfectly. If you haven't listened to it before, please please watch the movie that goes along with it on youtube. It's the best way to experience it.

So yeah, I really like this album. The sound design across all tracks is impeccable. It makes me feel like I'm adrift at sea, or lost in a storm, or straight up drowning. The music itself is also ... read more

Wow, this album is not good.

I like King Crimson a lot, but this record lacks all the emotional punch I'm used to from them. It doesn't help that it came out in the middle of two of their best albums (Red and Lark's), but even looking at it on its own this is barely listenable. And that sucks cause these are insanely talented musicians. Clearly free improvisation is not my thing.

Nearly every song meanders around with no destination. They play random notes for eight minutes and ... read more

You can't even hear it!!

I absolutely adore this album. It's insanely high energy from start to finish, and for as instantly recognisable as their style is each song sounds distinct. The radio presenter snippets help the tracks blend into one another smoothly and is just a really fun addition. That's a great thing about the entire record, it doesn't take itself too seriously. It's fun and energetic and badass. This album is no frills ROCK at its absolute best.

Songs ... read more

Lrt's Make Them Viral - Week 7
My first addition to this project, though I've been following it for a little while now. Probably won't post reviews of the previous albums on the list, but we'll see.

I haven't listened to much jangle pop or gothic anything really, but this has been a fantastic intro to the genres. It's short and sweet, and even though I kinda favour longer-form tracks and albums I think the length fits this record very nicely. I love the ... read more

Firmly and easily the greatest album I've ever heard. This is what got me into listening to albums in full and I'm almost sad that nothing else will ever come near it.

Storm is a beautiful, meandering elegy. It makes me feel like a gentle rainstorm blanketing an empty world in fog.

Static makes me anxious and uncertain. It is rage and frenzy and senseless violence wrapped together.

I want Sleep to be the last thing I hear before I die.

After all the horror of the previous two ... read more